An Unsolved Mystery
by ljp
Summary: Mulder and Scully go undercover in an unusual place to uncover some secrets.


An Unsolved Mystery  
By LJP - CRHarmony@aol.com  
Rated PG  
Keywords: kinda a case story  
Spoilers: Tooms  
Summary: Mulder and Scully go undercover in a very unusual place for a case involving kidnappings, murders, and attacks.  
Disclaimer: Anyone who has ever been seen on The X-Files (unfortunately that includes Mulder and Scully) belong to Chris Carter, the mastermind who created them. They also belong to 20th Century FOX and 1013 Productions. The idea for this story was given to me after I read "Back to School", which was written by Jen. She owns the idea. Everything will be returned to its respective owners with no harm done. Although, Mulder might have to spend the night first...  
Author's Note: All of the characters in this story are going to resemble people I know, so just keep that in mind. Most of the names have been changed to protect the innocent *wink wink*. Feedback is greatly appreciated. I love it! All flames will be thrown in the fireplace and used to roast marshmallows over ;-)  
  
***  
  
Special Agent Fox Mulder pushed open the car door and stepped out into the humid air. The sky was dark and clouded over and a mist of rain fell onto him and the car. He shut the door behind him and turned to find his partner, Special Agent Dana Scully, already at his side. He sent her a soft smile, which was received with a grimace, before walking up the steps to the porch of the small house that two would be sharing for the next couple of weeks. He pulled a key out of his pocket and put it into the doorknob. It unlocked quickly and the two FBI agents entered.  
  
Mulder scanned the room. Everything was already furnished. The Bureau had only rented this quaint house in the outskirts of Pittsburgh for a month. And he and his partner were going to be residing there for that time.   
  
So much for Bureau policy about agents consorting in the same room together, Mulder mused, chuckling quietly. His partner sent him a glare.   
  
Silence crept through the house as Scully made her way up the old wooden staircase. Mulder watched her disappear down the hall. He could already tell that she was not going to enjoy this assignment.  
  
***  
  
"Mr. Adra? I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder and this is my partner Dana Scully. We've been assigned to work on a case involving a string of murders and kidnappings in this area. We understand that you requested the undercover work?" Mulder greeted the tall man with dark hair and glasses.  
  
He nodded. "Yes, thank you for coming so soon." His voice was gruff and mostly monotone. "I was told that you and Ms. Scully are posing as a substitute teacher and a student here at Carter."  
  
Scully rolled her eyes. "That's right." She was not looking forward to returning to high school.   
  
Adra looked her over. Dana Scully was wearing a pair of wide leg blue jeans and a dark green button up shirt from Old Navy. Her short red hair was pulled into a loose pony tail and she hadn't bothered to put on make-up this morning. She looked years younger than the thirty-four she was. He frowned slightly. "You sure you're an FBI agent?" He asked.  
  
"I beg your pardon?"  
  
Adra's face softened. "You really do look like you're sixteen Agent Scully. I apologize for my comment. I didn't mean for it to be said out loud." He turned to Mulder and handed him a folder full of papers. "Agent Mulder, here are your class lists and your schedule. I hope you don't mind teaching driver's education and world cultures."   
  
"Not at all." Mulder took the folder and flipped through it quickly.  
  
The principal handed a slip of paper to Scully. "Here is your class schedule Agent Scully. I've given you two classes with Agent Mulder and a free period the same time as him so that anything that you need to do to solve this case quickly can be done."  
  
"Thank you." She murmured, grabbing the paper from him. She scanned the list silently. Physical education - Period 1. Academic Chemistry - Period 2. Advanced English - Period 3. Homeroom/Lunch - Period 4. World Cultures - Period 5. Algebra II - Period 6. Study Hall - Period 7. Driver's Education - Period 8. What a schedule.  
  
"If either of you have any questions, please see me. I'm the only one here that is aware of your undercover assignment, so I'm relying on your abilities to keep it that way."  
  
Mulder nodded. "Thank you very much Mr. Adra. We'll keep you informed." Then, both Dana Scully and Fox Mulder walked out of the office, his hand resting on the small of her back. This was definitely going to be one of the toughest undercover assignments she had ever been given.  
  
***  
  
Dana Scully walked into the gymnasium and headed in the direction of the women's locker room. She pushed open the door and shrugged her bookbag higher onto her shoulder. She peeked inside the teacher's office and knocked on the door. A tall blonde woman wearing black Adidas pants and a matching t-shirt looked up from the desk.   
  
"May I help you?" She asked.  
  
Dana walked into the room nervously, immediately putting up the facade of a high school sophomore. "I'm Dana Scully and I just transferred here from D.C. I'm in Ms. Tanty's first period gym class." She handed the woman her schedule.  
  
The blonde smiled. "That's me. It's a pleasure to meet you Dana." She stood up and searched through a pile of papers on her desk. "Here's a list of what you'll be needing this semester in class. Today we're square dancing, so don't worry about changing. You won't need to do that until next week."   
  
Dana smiled slightly and nodded. Square dancing? In Phys. Ed? At least the woman bought Scully's lie about being a student. Just another seven classes and a hundred or so of her peers to go.  
  
The bell rang and Ms. Tanty led Scully out into the gym once again. She introduced her to the class just as the morning announcements flowed through the intercom.  
  
"Good morning! May I have your attention for the announcements for Wednesday, November 10th." A muffled female voice echoed throughout the gym. "Congratulations to the men's varsity football team on their win over Gilligan this past Friday. The team would like to thank the faculty and students for their support." Papers could be heard shuffling around. "There is a National Honor Society meeting after school tomorrow in room 132. Please try to attend." A pause. "Money is being collected by FBLA for the purchase of a tree in memory of Gary Marks, who died this past Tuesday. Donations should be given to any executive board member or to Ms. Kemper or Mr. Sheares as soon as possible."  
  
The ramblings went on for a good five or so minutes before a male voice concluded. "Today's lunch is hot chicken sandwich with tator tots, fresh vegetables and a brownie. The weather calls for clouds with a chance of rain and a high of 60. And the quote of the day is: `Happiness is not having what you want, it's wanting what you have.'" He stopped for a moment. "Have a great day, and please stand for the pledge of allegiance." Dana's new classmates stood and saluted the flag, which was nestled into the far corner of the gym. After the pledge was over, one of the male gym teachers began organizing squares, pairing the girls with the boys.  
  
***  
  
The bell rang and Dana sighed heavily. Only two periods into her first day at school and she was already exhausted. This really wasn't her idea of a fun case. And as far as she could tell, nothing was getting accomplished. Just as she had made it to the door, a girl about the same height as herself with brown hair pulled into a bouncy ponytail appeared next to her.   
  
"I'm Sarah." She introduced, putting out her hand. "Do you need help finding your next class?"  
  
Dana bit her lip. "Sure. Thanks. I'm Dana." She smiled softly and shook the girl's hand.  
  
"Anytime." Sarah offered, peering over Dana's shoulder to look at her schedule. "English?" She asked. "That's where I'm headed. Don't worry about it though. You'll love Ms. Vastin. She's awesome!" Dana didn't respond, she just followed Sarah through the crowded halls. "What period do you have lunch?"  
  
Her mind finally registered the girl's question. "Fourth. What about you?"  
  
Sarah's smile brightened. "Me too! You can join my friends and I at our table. I'm sure they won't mind." She was silent for a moment, apparently in deep thought. "Where'd you move here from?" Sarah finally asked.  
  
"Washington D.C." She answered, just as they entered the English room. Dana scanned the room for a teacher and found her near her desk. "Excuse me for a second." She headed across the room to introduce herself to Ms. Vastin, a tall, slender woman with long, curly black hair and a pale face. At first glance, one might have thought they had stumbled upon a witch, but her smile diminished that thought. Ms. Vastin handed her several papers and two books before giving her a seating assignment. Dana fell back into her chair just as the bell rang.  
  
***  
  
The cafeteria was noisy and Scully was already getting a headache. She and her new friend Sarah stood in the long line near the food court, waiting to get their food. "A couple things." Sarah commented. "Don't eat the plate lunch. No one knows what's actually in it. The hamburgers are awesome, as long as you load it with lettuce and tomato and a lot of ketchup. But don't eat them if they don't have pickles. The fries are good every once in a while, but usually they're cold. The salad is never fresh. And every once in a while they serve these   
awesome spicy chicken fingers." The two walked into the food court and Sarah led Dana over to the hamburgers. "This is what I usually get."  
  
Dana shrugged and grabbed a cup of french fries. "Sounds good." She swallowed hard, squirting a glob of ketchup into a small plastic cup. On the way to the line, Scully also grabbed a carton of iced tea.  
  
Before long, they were both seated at a round table near the door, along with six of Sarah's friends, who were introduced to the newcomer. "Dana, this is Samantha, Emily, Rich, Tim, Jen, and A.J." She pointed to each occupant and they gave her a wave. "Guys, this is Dana. She just moved here from Washington D.C."  
  
"Welcome to Hell." The blonde girl that had been introduced as Emily shot out sarcastically.   
  
A.J. rolled her eyes. "She doesn't really mean that. It's not that bad here."  
  
Samantha, who had curly red hair, gave her a glare. "Most of the time it's bad here. It depends on the mood you're in." She shrugged and took a sip of Pepsi.  
  
Dana rose her eyebrow at the conversation Tim and Rich were having. Or, to be more precise, the conversation Tim and Rich weren't having. Tim was waving a nickel in front of Rich's face, chanting over and over again the words: "Look Rich. A nickel. Shiny." Rich's eyes were bright and he watched Tim move it back and forth.  
  
Sarah rolled her eyes. "You're not giving Dana a very good impression." And she was about to continue when she found herself captivated by a tall man with brown hair and a lanky figure. "Who is that?" She breathed, her gaze following him toward the food court. "Why is it that we always get really fine guys in this cafeteria that no one knows?"  
  
Jen laughed and went into a story about a man that her brother had once bumped into in a supermarket. Dana looked up and was surprised to find that Sarah had been staring at Mulder. She was about to open her mouth to make a reply when she realized that she probably shouldn't know who he is.  
  
"What guy?" Emily asked, taking a sip from her juice box. "I'm beginning to think that you're hallucinating Sarah." Her friend shot her a look.   
  
Samantha chewed on the end of one of Dana's fries. "Hope you don't mind." She motioned to the fry that was now half eaten. Scully shook her head. "I never eat an entire cup. I just steal everyone else's." She laughed, apologizing again.  
  
Jen pulled out a piece of paper and held it up to Sarah. "Did he collect this in chemistry?" Sarah nodded. "Can you help me?"  
  
Dana sighed and leaned back in her chair, popping a fry into her mouth. She was having a debate with herself as to whether or not this case was really worth it. High school had not been the best years of her life.  
  
A few minutes later Sarah looked up from Jen's homework and nodded towards Mulder. "There he is."  
  
"Wow. He is hot." A.J.'s face turned a bright shade of red as he turned toward their table. She muttered something unintelligible, looking back down at her salad and poking at it shyly.   
  
Mulder caught Scully's eye and grinned, happy with himself that she seemed to be enjoying herself. He continued out the door and Rich turned to see who the girls were gawking over.  
  
"That's Mr. Mulder." He stated. "He's subbing for Mr. Mizeas for the next couple weeks since he broke his leg."  
  
Sarah and A.J.'s jaws almost hit the table. "Looks like world cultures is going to be my new favorite class." Sarah gasped, her mouth still hanging open.  
  
Dana took a bite of her hamburger and chuckled to herself. Mulder certainly had that effect on people, including herself, though she would never admit that.  
  
***  
  
Lunch was over and Dana and two of her new friends, Sarah and A.J., were heading to world cultures. They walked out of the cafeteria and outside into the brisk air.   
  
"Sarah!" A male voice called from behind them. Dana turned to see a short boy with dark hair and a thin goatee hurrying up to them. Sarah smiled at him. "Who's your friend?" He asked, unconsciously looking her over.   
  
Dana found herself blushing. "I'm Dana." She stated, putting out her hand.  
  
"Jason." He grinned. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Jason kissed her hand and she blushed softly. He turned back to Sarah as the foursome continued walking, though A.J. had started into a conversation with a boy a couple of paces ahead of them. He was tall and slender, wearing a baggy pair of black jeans and a tight, yellow polyester shirt. His face was framed with a small pair of wire glasses and his hair had been dyed bleach blonde. "Ed was arguing with me again about x and theta." Jason rolled his eyes. "We need more people to back us up."  
  
Sarah turned to Dana. "Which do you like better?" She asked, pushing open the door and walking back into the warmth of the school. "X or theta?"  
  
Dana rose an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" She wondered, not exactly sure where Sarah was going with this.  
  
Jason laughed. "With the trigonometric functions sine, cosine, etceteras, you usually use either x or theta to signify the value of the angle. Our friend Ed has been having an ongoing argument with us about whether x or theta is better."  
  
Dana shrugged, trying her best to keep a straight face over the ridiculousness of the argument. "I'm not going to justify that question with an answer." She said, mumbling. They soon found   
themselves just outside the world cultures room and Sarah was saying good-bye to Jason, who had continued up the stairs. A.J. and the boy she had been talking to earlier were already seated in the classroom, laughing over some joke that had been told a while ago.  
  
"Hey Greg." Sarah greeted. "This is Dana. She just moved here from D.C."   
  
Greg smiled at her and bowed a little bit. "I'm Greg." He introduced, before gazing over at Mulder, who was shuffling the papers on his desk. "Looks like we've got a sub." He smirked. He got a better look at Mulder and his eyes lit up a little. "And he's pretty hot too!"  
  
Dana's mouth hung open at Greg's comment, but she didn't respond to it. Sarah punched Greg in the arm. "Looks like someone has the hots for a certain world cultures sub..."  
  
A.J. rolled her eyes. "What did you just say less than five minutes ago in the cafeteria?" Sarah shrugged and laughed before heading towards the front of the room. Dana wasn't sure she wanted to know what was going on, so she slid unnoticed into an empty seat in the back of the room. Unnoticed so she thought. A girl that had been chatting with A.J. walked past her, sending a strange glance in her way before introducing herself.  
  
"I'm Natalie." She smiled. "You new?"  
  
Scully nodded. "Dana. Nice to meet you."  
  
"You're pretty lucky that Mr. Mizeas isn't here. We might actually be able to stay awake today." Natalie was about to continue, but the bell rang and she retreated to her seat, mumbling a quick good-bye.  
  
Mulder addressed the class. "I'm Fox Mulder and I'm going to be substituting for Mr. Mizeas for the next few weeks. I hope you will show me the same respect that you would show him."  
  
"I guess that means we can get some sleep." A boy in the third row, about two seats in front of A.J. snickered, loud enough for Mulder to hear.   
  
"Mr. McCanty, I'd appreciate it if you would keep your comments to yourself in the future." Mulder stated, looking down at his seating chart for just a second. "Mr. Mizeas has left a rather detailed plan of what he would like us to do while he is away, but I think I'm going to adapt it to make it a little more...how can I put this? Interesting."  
  
The classroom was filled with sighs of relief at his promise and Mulder caught Scully's gaze for just a moment.  
  
***  
  
Special Agent Dana Scully stepped off of the big yellow school bus and onto the cold, wet pavement of the road. She rolled her eyes in frustration and annoyance and walked up the staircase to her house. She pushed open the door and headed inside. She tossed her book bag onto the couch and hurried into the kitchen. Her stomach was growling incessantly and she prayed that Mulder had remembered to pick up something at the grocery store. Scully wandered into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Just as she had suspected, it was empty. Completely empty. She groaned rather loudly just as her cell phone rang.  
  
She ran back into the family room and quickly unzipped her bookbag, searching frantically for her cell phone. She found it at the bottom and pushed it on. "Scully." She stated into it.  
  
"Scully it's me." Mulder said. "I just got a call from the Carter police and they said that another teen was just abducted. She was on her way home from school and never made it. Her parents just put a call in. The police found her bookbag on a street corner near her house."  
  
"Oh god." Scully gasped. "Do you need me to come down there?"   
  
She could see Mulder biting his lower lip. "I don't think that would be a good idea. Someone from school might see you. I'll keep you updated." There was a click and then a dial tone. Scully turned it off and pouted, tossing the phone back into her bookbag. She felt helpless.  
  
Just as she slid back onto the couch, the doorbell rang. Scully just sat there and the doorbell rang again. And again. Exasperated, she jumped up and flung open the door. She found someone she least expected to see. Sarah. From school. Her eyes were red and puffy and tears were streaming down her face.  
  
"Sarah?" She asked, eyes wide. "What's the matter? How did you find me?"  
  
"I didn't know where else to go. A.J. had physical therapy and Greg and Danielle went to the mall. My dad's still working and my mother took my brother to the doctor's. Jason and Samantha are at work. And Jen...I don't know where she is." Sarah started to ramble. "I just   
starting walking, which probably wasn't a good thing to do, but I did anyway. And I saw you get off the bus. I thought it was you and I took a chance." She managed her way into the house and she collapsed onto the couch, sobs overcoming her.  
  
Dana sat next to her, not entirely sure what to do. "What happened?"  
  
Sarah looked up at her, sniffling. "I told Emily that I'd call her as soon as I got home. And I did. But she wasn't there. Her mom said she never came home. She had already called the police, but they couldn't find her. She was kidnapped."  
  
Dana gasped in realization. Emily had been the one Mulder had been talking about. It was a good thing Scully hadn't gone down to the police station. It could have blown her cover. She wrapped her arms around the younger girl and held her while she cried.  
  
***  
  
Agent Mulder paced on the sidewalk. The victim this time was a sophomore, Emily Eyth. She had been walking home after getting off the bus, but she never made it. Her parents found her bookbag on the street corner Mulder was now standing on. The local police had brushed the bag for fingerprints, but could find none other than Emily's. The neighbors never saw anyone.  
  
Mulder crouched down to examine the ground a little closer. A set of footprints, the girl's, ended abruptly. The only problem was that she could not have gotten in a car. They ended abruptly in the grass heading away from the street. Mulder raised an eyebrow and popped a sunflower seed into his mouth. He leaned in a little closer, barely making out a second pair of footprints. They were faint, but they were there.  
  
He beckoned an officer to join him and he pointed them out before leaving the man to do his duty. He walked a few paces away and opened up his cell phone. He dialed Scully's number for the second time in just a few minutes.  
  
"Scully." Came the annoyed greeting.  
  
"It's me again. I found some footprints that match the ones near the last homicide site." He explained.  
  
"Yes?" She seemed really annoyed now.  
  
He rose an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine." She responded. Just like always. "A friend from school's over here."  
  
"Oh, the new girl is making friends already. How sweet." He teased. Then he got serious again. "I'm going to see if this leads us to anything. Try and get as much information out of your new friend as you can, okay?"   
  
"Sure, fine, whatever." Her trademark response, other than `I'm fine' of course. "Talk to you later." She disconnected the line. Mulder turned off his phone and looked at it, biting on his lower lip.  
  
***  
  
Scully clicked off the phone and tossed it onto the floor next to her bookbag. Sarah was looking up at her incredulously. "Your parents gave you a cell phone?" She asked, surprised.  
  
Scully nodded, trying to think up a quick answer. "They work a lot. And want to make sure I can get in touch with them in a crunch." She explained, returning to her seat next to Sarah. "That was my dad now actually. He wanted me to make sure I didn't go anywhere because of the disappearance. What's been happening lately?"  
  
The girl shrugged. "Last week Gary was found dead in his kitchen. His parents found him when they got home from a dinner date with friends. My friend Margaret disappeared the week before. She was being dropped off from play rehearsal late at night. Her ride watched her enter her house from her car, but she wasn't there the next morning. And the week before that Pete Camprilis was murdered in a park by his house and Teri Mitchall disappeared while jogging around the block. We've all tried to be very careful." She shook her head. "You picked a real   
great time to show up in Carter." She laughed ironically, wiping her nose on her shirt sleeve.  
  
Dana thought hard for a moment.  
  
"I'm sorry Dana. I shouldn't have just shown up on an impulse like that." Sarah stood up and headed for the door. "I'm sorry. I should really go."  
  
Dana grabbed her arm. "No way Sarah. I'm not letting you out of this house by yourself."  
  
Sarah pursed her lips and fought back tears, but she surrendered. "Okay. I guess I'm stuck here with you for a while."  
  
She nodded, leading Sarah back to the couch. "I'd offer you something to drink, but unfortunately no one has taken the time to go shopping."  
  
She laughed. "It's okay. I'm not really hungry." She coughed a couple times. "Do you want to come to a sleepover that A.J.'s having Friday night? She told me to invite you next time I saw you." She offered.  
  
Dana nodded, accepting the invitation. "It sounds like fun. Thanks." She tried to remember the age she was supposed to be, thinking if she could give Sarah a ride. Sixteen flashed into her mind and she let out a breath of relief. "I can give you a ride home." She suggested.  
  
Sarah looked at her. "You drive?"  
  
Dana nodded. "I don't know if my parents left a car or not." She tried to remember if they had rented two cars or not. "But we can check." She sprinted to the back window, frowning at the sight of no car. "Never mind. Took them both." Dana shrugged.  
  
"It's okay." Sarah sighed, blowing her nose with the Kleenex she now had sitting in her lap.  
  
***  
  
Dana chewed on the end of her pencil. It had been too many years since she had taken chemistry and not much of it was coming back to her. Only her second day of school and the chemistry teacher, Mr. Erbman had insisted that she take the test. He said that most books contained the same information and that, most likely, her former school had been at the same place. That would have been true, if Dana had actually been in a previous school. She groaned in frustration and scanned the room. It was still hard to believe that everyone here had actually bought her story about being sixteen. She didn't think she looked sixteen and it almost made her mad that both Skinner and Mulder had given her this assignment. The plus side was that she got to spend three periods every day with Mulder and she was living with him too.  
  
"Miss Scully, please keep your eyes to your own paper." Mr. Erbman said, pacing around the front of the room. She quickly looked back at the test and felt herself turning a bright shade of red. Her teacher was cute, even though he seemed almost ten years younger than her. She laughed silently. It was pretty ironic that she was thinking that to herself.  
  
Dana looked up again, catching Sarah's glance from across the room. Sarah had waited until her father had come home from work and had called him to come pick her up. She explained Emily's abduction and he understood, obviously implying that this wasn't the first time this had happened.  
  
When she noticed her teacher glaring at her, she returned to her test. Lithium phosphate. Now, if she could only remember the formula for that...  
  
Twenty minutes later, the bell rang and Dana thanked whoever was up there listening that that was over with. Hopefully the case would end soon, before she had to take anymore tests. Just as she exited the classroom, Sarah caught up with her and scrunched up her nose.  
  
"I really hate chemistry." She said simply. "Forget about being a doctor now."  
  
Dana looked at her. "What?"  
  
Sarah shrugged. "For a little while there I wanted to be a doctor, but I think I'm going to stick with teaching English and writing books." She laughed to herself and Dana almost joined her, thinking how ironic the comment was. "What about you? What do you want to be?"  
  
"I haven't really given it much thought." That was a lie. But the real answer had been the same as Sarah's. A doctor.   
  
Sarah gave her a look. "You've never thought about what you've wanted to be before?"  
  
Dana shook her head. "No." She looked pensive for a moment. "But as long as it doesn't involve any chemistry classes, I think I'll be fine." The two friends shared a laugh as they walked into their English classroom.  
  
***  
  
"Mulder, I honestly don't know what to make of it. There haven't been any clues left at any of the crime scenes and we have no reason to believe that the murders are even related to the kidnappings." Scully was back into her work mode. She and Mulder were nestled in the corner   
of the teacher's lounge, a world cultures book open, making it look like he was just being the helpful teacher, tutoring her during a study hall.  
  
Mulder let out a breath and leaned back in his chair, interlocking his hands behind his head against the wall. "I think they are related." He stated, chewing on his lower lip. "Every incident against a boy has been homicide and every incident against a girl has been an abduction. That's too coincidental to be random." He insisted. "I think the only thing we can do to ensure that we catch the killer in this case, is stick around the victims." He pursed his lips. "Which is exactly why you are a high school student."  
  
She gave him a look. "Don't remind me." Scully muttered. "Though I don't see why we have to be this close to the students. We could just as easily do this from an outside position."  
  
Mulder smiled, a rare occurrence in Scully's world. "But then I wouldn't have the honor of teaching you about the cultures of the world." She narrowed her eyes and shook her head.  
  
***  
  
Thursday blurred past and Mulder and Scully were no closer now than they were then. No one else had been murdered. And no one else had been kidnapped. And it was Friday, everybody's favorite day of the week. Personally, Dana could not wait until the weekend where she would have the chance to just relax. In the back of her head though, she had the nagging feeling that she and Mulder would not get any rest this weekend. And it wouldn't be due to satisfying her own fantasies either.  
  
She tossed the carton of iced tea onto the table and fell into the chair between Sarah and A.J. Wouldn't Mulder be proud?  
  
"Dana?" She looked up to see Mulder staring at her. Sarah and A.J. were gawking like love-sick puppies. Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear.  
  
Dana wasn't used to hearing her partner refer to her using her first name. "Mr. Mulder?"  
  
"There's something I need to discuss with you." He responded, silently informing her that he had found something valuable to the case.  
  
She shrugged. "Sure." She picked up her iced tea and took a quick sip before standing up and walking over to Mulder. He led her toward the door and opened it for her. Dana glanced back to see her friends giggling hysterically, talking about Mulder.  
  
As they walked into the hallway, she smiled. "You have admirers." She nodded toward the girls at the table and Mulder flashed them a gorgeous smile, only causing them to giggle again. She turned serious. "What did you find?"  
  
"I got an anonymous phone call about five minutes ago. Seems that someone is going to disappear tonight." He explained.  
  
Scully rose and eyebrow. "It's going to be a girl?"  
  
He shrugged. "I'm not sure. But this could be our chance. Are you still planning on going to that sleep-over tonight?" She nodded. "Make sure you have your gun and badge with you. Just in case."  
  
"Um...I guess I can hide it in my overnight bag. You sure you'll be okay all alone in our house." Scully agreed. She took a deep breath and looked up at her partner. "I'll see you next period." He nodded and they went their separate ways. Her back into the cafeteria and he toward his classroom.  
  
***  
  
Dana knocked quietly on the door. A bright, smiling face answered it. "Dana!" A.J. exclaimed. "I am so glad you decided to come. We've all been taking turns doing things over the weekend since the...incidents started." Her face shadowed for just a moment. "Sarah gets it next week. I don't know what she's going to decide to do." Scully peered over the blonde's shoulder to find Sarah laying on her stomach in front of the TV. She saw Dana and waved. "Come on in." A.J. stepped aside and Dana walked in.  
  
Her friend led her into the family room to find Sarah, Jen and a couple of other girls Dana didn't know, sprawled out around the room. Sarah and a girl with very bouncy brown hair were on the floor. A girl with red hair was sitting on the couch with Jen. And another girl with short brown hair was reclining in an easy chair. "Hey guys, this is Dana." A.J. introduced. "She just moved here from Washington." Everyone looked up and smiled. "This is Robin, Aubrey and Erin. You already know Jen and Sarah." Dana grinned.  
  
A.J. offered her a seat on a bean bag near the couch, which she accepted. "Danielle should be here in a little while." She continued, dropping down onto the floor and grabbing a handful of popcorn. "She said she may be a little late."  
  
Robin reached for the popcorn and Dana handed it across the floor to her. "Thanks." She said, her voice muffled as she shoved a bunch of the snack into her mouth. After she swallowed, she looked up and out the window. "I hope Danielle doesn't take too long." She observed. "She's bringing the movies."  
  
***  
  
The girls stayed up waiting for Danielle for a few hours, but it wasn't until around 11 that they received a phone call from her parents, patiently explaining that Danielle had left to walk the dog over four hours ago and hadn't returned. Yet another mysterious disappearance.  
  
So, the next morning, Mulder and Scully had worked diligently on the case, reviewing the information from the house rather than the police station.  
  
"I'm still at a loss for what's happening here." Scully sighed, shuffling through a few loose files laying on the table.  
  
Mulder shrugged and popped a sunflower seed into his mouth. "I really don't know what to say either. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to the disappearances and murders and I'm having a hard time profiling the killer."  
  
Scully opened her mouth to comment again when the phone interrupted her. Mulder held up his finger to quiet her and picked up the phone. "Hello?" He answered. A few seconds later, he offered her the phone. "It's for you...Dana." He grinned, putting the emphasis on her first name.  
  
Scully gave him a look and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"  
  
***  
  
Sarah reached up and rang the doorbell. She tapped her foot unconsciously as she waited for the door to open. Sarah glanced back at the car and she laughed at Jason and Samantha, who were making faces at her. The door opened and Dana slid out, a coat and a purse flung over her arm. She was dressed in a knee length black skirt and a white button up blouse. She had very high heels on which brought her height up about three or four inches. Dana had curled her hair a little and added some make-up to her pale face, causing her to look as old as she really was. She looked at Sarah subconsciously, glad to find her almost as dressed up as she was. Sarah was wearing a short navy blue skirt and a beige tank top covered with a matching sweater.   
  
"Thanks so much for coming on such short notice." Sarah said. "I just wanted to do something fun after what happened last night."  
  
Dana shrugged and smiled. "It's okay. I think we'll have fun." The two girls hurried into the car and Samantha pulled out of the driveway.  
  
"If you don't mind." Samantha started. "I need to stop for some gas. It'll only take a minute."  
  
Sarah sighed with relief. "Good, because I really need to go to the bathroom."  
  
"You can't wait until we get to your house?" Jason offered from the back.  
  
Sarah rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. The ride to the gas station was silent, except for the sound of the car's radio humming softly in the background. Samantha pulled the car up to the gas pumps and jumped out of the car. Jason and Sarah did the same.   
  
"Be right back." She grinned, heading off in search of the, most likely filthy, gas station bathroom.  
  
Jason jogged after her. "I'm going with you. It's getting dark and you really shouldn't be alone." She merely shrugged and didn't protest. She and Jason rounded the corner of the building quickly. Dana frowned slightly, remembering Mulder's warnings earlier that day. She didn't realize that Samantha was speaking to her. "Huh?" She spun around to face her.  
  
"I asked if you could toss me purse. It's on the front seat." She repeated, returning the pumper back to its holder and screwing the cover onto the side of the car.  
  
She obliged and handed it to her quickly, watching as she hurried into the building to pay the cashier. It was then that she heard a scream.  
  
***  
  
Sarah Jenkins had never been as scared as she was at that moment. Sure, she had screamed a couple of times while in haunted houses. And, she had had to scream on two different occasions for the plays she was in. But nothing had ever sounding like the blood curtling shriek that had just escaped her throat only moments ago. Sarah had walked out of the bathroom to come face to face with a...monster.  
  
It was a few inches taller than her and it had no hair. The face was distorted, with bumps and scrapes and cuts running through the skin. It was standing right in front of her, yet it wasn't really right in front of it. Whatever it was, it seemed to be on another plane of existence. It extended it's hand as if to grab onto Sarah and she screamed again. Jason took a step in front of her.  
  
"Get away!" He warned.  
  
It spoke. "I need her. She has been chosen." It was deep and droned on slowly.  
  
"Chosen?" Sarah breathed. "For what?"  
  
Jason quieted her, pushing her away, and it drew back its hand. Time began to move in slow motion as the thing reached underneath an overcoat and removed a pistol. As it raised it toward Jason and Sarah, the figure became clearer and began to resemble more of a man. He had dark chiseled features and a pale complexion. His eyes were dark and the littlest stubble of a beard was visible along its jaw.  
  
"She comes with me." The voice was clearer now. And the warning came across with an impact as he cocked the gun with his thumb. "They are waiting for her. She knows too much."  
  
Jason stood strong in front of Sarah, taking a deep breath. Hurried footsteps sounded from the side of the building and the small form of Dana Scully charged toward them, her own gun raised in warning. "Freeze! Federal agent!" She called out.  
  
Sarah cast a glance sideways. "What?!" She managed to ask, eyebrow raised.  
  
The man glared at Scully, the gun never moving from its target. Dana stepped closer, eyes wide and voice strong. "Put your weapon on the floor and walk away from them. You are under arrest..." She didn't have time to complete the sentence. Sarah had started to back away   
toward the car and the man's gun spun toward her. He fired it in less than a second. It missed its target because, at the moment it was fired, Jason leapt in front of her and he took the bullet. The impact was so great that it threw both him and Sarah to the ground, Jason falling limply on top of his friend.  
  
Police sirens blared in the distance and a tall, lanky figure emerged from the side of the building, gun drawn at his side. "Scully!" He called out. He found her with her gun pointed at a shadowy figure, breathing heavily. She made the mistake of turning sideways to look at her partner. The man took that moment to dash out of sight. Mulder noticed it and took off after him, calling behind him to his partner. "Take care of the boy Scully! I have him." And he disappeared.  
  
Scully let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding in and turned to Sarah and Jason. She had scooted out from under him and was cradling his head in her lap. Scully knelt down next to Jason and her eyes trailed down to where the bullet had penetrated the skin. Blood   
was gushing from the wound and Scully quickly tore open his now pink shirt and used part of the sleeve in an attempt to control the flow of blood. She looked up to see Samantha run to them from the side of the gas station.  
  
"Oh God..." She gasped, taking one look at what had happened. Sarah pushed herself onto her feet ran over to her friend, collapsing into her arms. She turned around to look down at her friend, who was laying on the ground, pale as a ghost. Samantha tried everything to calm Sarah down. Her face was tear stained and red.  
  
Scully felt the side of Jason's neck, but could not find a pulse. Tilting his head back, she breathed into him twice before moving down his body to begin abdominal thrusts. Nothing. She repeated the CPR again. After four attempts, Scully breathlessly began to plead Jason back to the land of the living. Just as she lifted her mouth from his, he coughed and spit up blood.   
  
Jason looked at Scully. "I must be in heaven..." He breathed and she had to strain to hear him. She cracked a small smile. He sucked in air and gasped as pain shot through his chest. Sarah fell onto her knees on the other side of him.  
  
"Jason, the ambulance is almost here." She was confirmed by the wail of sirens. "Just don't let go. We'll get you help, right Dana?" She sniffled and tears fell down her face. Dana nodded. "Please Jason. Don't make me have to fight out x-theta war alone. Please." Samantha knelt down beside her.  
  
"Just..." He whispered. "Let Ed know that x will always be better...and tell my family that I love them..." His lips curled up into a faint smile. "Good-bye cruel, cruel world..." And with that remark, he choked for air and his head fell, lifelessly, to the side.  
  
Sarah shook her head, not believing what had just happened. Samantha pulled her onto her feet. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. The dread and silence was interrupted by the loud ringing of Scully's cell phone. She pulled it from her pocket and held it to her ear. "Scully." Her voice wavered.  
  
"I need you to get over here as soon as possible."  
  
"Mulder? Where are you?" She asked, covering her free ear with a hand to escape the sounds of sirens.   
  
His breath was ragged. "At the warehouse across the street. Our abductor is handcuffed to a chair and all our abductees are here. But they're in pretty bad shape."  
  
She nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "I'll be right there."  
  
Sarah looked up as Dana hung up the phone. "Where are you going?" She asked, her voice small and weak.   
  
Scully shook her head. "Don't worry about it. When the police get here, tell them we've got it covered." She started toward the street. "And...I'm very sorry about Jason. I just wish I could have known him better." Dana smiled softly before masking her emotions and racing into the darkness.  
  
After Scully had disappeared in the shadows, Sarah wiped the water from her face. "Sam, talk to the police, I'll be right back." She gave her friend a small smile before heading off after Scully.  
  
***  
  
The doorbell rang and Sarah walked around the corner and opened the door. On the other side stood her world cultures substitute Mr. Mulder and Dana, though they didn't look like she was used to seeing them. Mr. Mulder was in a suit with an awful tie and a trenchcoat and Dana was in a dark pant suit and trenchcoat.  
  
"Come one in." Sarah greeted, motioning for them to join her inside. She was dressed comfortably in baggy pants and an oversized shirt. Her face was a little stained from crying. "I'm not exactly sure what this is..."  
  
Dana's face softened. "Well, my name is Dana Scully, and this is my partner Fox Mulder. We work for the FBI and we were here investigating a case." She explained.  
  
Mulder nodded. "We were asked to go undercover for the case, that's why Scully was a student and I was a teacher." Sarah curled up on the couch and offered the other seats in the room to the two agents, who refused politely.  
  
"We need to be going soon. I just wanted to stop by and give you an explanation." Scully said, smiling softly. "I just thought you'd rather hear it from us. Before we go back to D.C."  
  
Sarah understood, but all of a sudden, she got a look of terror on her face. "What about world cultures?"  
  
Mulder chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Mr. Mizeas is returning. He didn't really break his leg." He tried to make Sarah feel better. "I would stay, but Scully and I need to get back to work   
on the X-Files." At Sarah's arched eyebrow of confusion, he elaborated. "Unexplained, unsolvable cases. That's what our job is actually. We search for the paranormal."  
  
The girl's eyes lit up. "Like aliens?"  
  
Scully rolled her eyes. "Like aliens."  
  
"Well, did you solve our case?" She wondered.  
  
Mulder shook his head. "Not entirely. But that's why it's called an X-File."  
  
The End 


End file.
